Lineman&#39;s tool



May 2, 1933., w. A. HEHNRBCH LINEMANS TOOL Filed D80. 15, 1930 la g, a )7 4 /6 I5 22\ I W A INVENTOR BWALTEF 4. HE/NP/CH ATTORNEYS Patented May 2, 1933 PATENT OFFICE WALTER A. HEINRICH, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI LINEMANS TOOL Application filed December 15, 1930. Serial No. 502,412.

Clips of one type to which the present tool is applicable, and a full description of a particular example thereof is given in United State Patents Nos. 1,783,967 and 1,783,968, to James R. Kearney. Briefly, however, the use of these clips is as follows: In securing guy wire cables, the customary practice is to loop the end of the cable about or through the object to be fastened,

and to secure the looped, or dead end to the main strand by means of a standard guy or cable clamp. The usual practice in making these connections is to allow the dead end to eXtend a short distance beyond the cable clamp, and to secure this portion i clips to the paired cables, and as an object of this invention, I provide a tool which causes the clip tobe tightly wrapped about both of the paired cables, and in so doing stretches the metal from which the clip is formed, thereby producing a permanent set in the metal, which prevents loosening of the clip.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tool of the class mentioned, which is readily adjustable to care for various sizes of cable clips and is provided with indicating means for facilitating the adjustment.

These and other objects and advantages will be obvious from the description which r follows, and from the drawing, Fig. 1 of which is a partially sectioned side elevation of a preferred embodiment of the invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the tool shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the tool in its initial clamping, position, in connection with a guy clip and paired, stranded cables, and Fig. 1 is a fragmentary View similar to the showing in Fig. 1, with certain of the parts in posir tion to permit a ready adjustment of the clamping jaws for clips of different size.

Referring now by numerals of reference to the drawing, the member comprising the body of the tool is preferably stamped from sheet metal, the material being of sufficient gauge to give strength and rigidity to the finished article. The body portion of the tool comprises, preferably, an elongated member of channel section, having opposed substantially parallel side walls 5, connected by a back 6, and having a holding portion 7 near one end thereof so conformed as to provide a comfortable gripping surface for the hand. At the end of the body portion opposite the handle, are stationary jaws 8, in the present embodiment formed integrally with the sides 5, and the inner margins of which are provided with arcuate recesses 9 forming a seat for engaging a cable clip.

Cooperating with the stationary jaws 8, for bending-and clamping a cable clip, I provide a movable jaw 10, disposed at the forward end of a rack 11, which is adapted for longitudinal, reciprocal movement in the guide-way formed by the channeled body portion of the tool. As appears in Figs. 1 and 3, the forward end of the rack member extends beyond the face of the aw F 10, which is curved inwardly, as shown, and this face meets the upper surface of the rack member at a sharp angle and forms a notch 12. The purpose of this notch is indicated in Fig. 3, but will be more clearly brought out in the description of operation 8 hereinafter set forth. The rack member, just described, is preferably formed of laminated stampings, the laminae being riveted together or secured in any other suitable manner.

The member 11 is adapted to be actuated by means of a pinion, 01' toothed sector 13, from the face of which projects a stud portion 14, having an actuator handle 15 secured thereto. The pinion and its stud p01'- 9 tion, like the member 11, is preferably formed of assembled laminae, and a handle 15, in the present embodiment is formed of sheet metal, and fastened to the stud by rivets 16. While the laminated stud 14 may be extended sufficiently to provide an actuating handle of suitable length, the construction described above is believed superior, since the weight of the tool is materially reduced thereby. The pinion 13 is pivotally mounted on a pin or bolt 17, disposed between a pair of bearing members 18 extended upwardly from, and preferably formed integrally with the side walls 5 of the tool body.

The operation of the tool will be apparent from the above description of parts, but for purposes of completeness, may be reviewed as follows: An open cable clip is positioned on a pair of cables, and the tool applied, with the portion A of the clip (Fig. 3) nested in the stationary jaws 8 and the tail portion B of the clip disposed in the notch 12, as shows in Fig. 3. The handle is then rotated rearwardly which, by means of the pinion and rack, moves the jaw 10 forward, and the tail portion Bof the clip is bent about one of the cables until it meets, or in certain cases overlies, the opposite end of theclip. Thus, the jaws engage opposite ends of the clip and serve to wrap it around the paired cables. In so doing, the portion C of the clip is stretched, which permanently sets the metal and prevents loosening of the clip. Also, there is a slight amount of slippage between the clip and the tool jaws, causing the clip to be ironed against the strands.

To adapt the tool to various sizes of cable clip, the pinion may be disengaged from the rack by removing the bolt 17, and the movable jaw positioned according to the size of cable clip to be employed. Indicating mark 19, on the rack member, and gauge marks 20, on the side of the tool, aid an operator in setting the rack, so that when the tool is reassembled, with the handle in a forward position, the pinion will mesh with the rack so that a clip of the selected size may be properly crimped.

I'Vhere clips of various sizes are employed, and it is necessary to frequently change the setting, or range of movement, of the rack and its associated jaw member, the pinion 13 is so constructed that when the handle is swung to its forwardmost position, the pinion teeth are entirely disengaged from the .rack, and that member may then be freely moved and its indicator mark aligned with the desired mark on the tool body. As illustrated by Fig. 4, this result may be attained by causing disengagement of the rack and pinion when the parts are in the position shown. In the illustrated embodiment this is accomplished by omitting one of the gear teeth such-as 21, shown in Fig. 1.

Inturned portions 22, on the end of the tool, prevent the rack member from sliding out of the body portion when the handle is disengaged as mentioned above. A ring 23, on the end of the tool, may be provided as a means for attaching the tool to a harness snap or equivalent arrangement, ordinarily carried on the linemans safety belt. It is desirable in certain cases to provide some means for checking the otherwise free movement of the rack member in the body portion of the tool, to facilitate adjustment, and yet to assure a reasonably snug-fitting relation between the moving parts. To these ends there may be provided a sprim 24, seated in a lateral recess in the racc member as appears in Fig. 1, this spring serving frictionally to position the rack member in the body against unintended movement.

WVhile I have shown and described a single particular embodiment of my invention, I realize that certain changes may be made without departing from the spirit and full intended scope of the invention, as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a clamping device for guy clips and the like, and elongated, transversely channeled body portion, a rack, formed of laminated sheet metal stampings, movable longitudinally within the body portion, a movable jaw associated with the rack, a fixed jaw carried by the body portion, said jaws being formed to provide opposed arcuate clip seats extending transversely of the body portion, one of said seats being provided with a notch near its lower portion, adapted initially to engage a free end of a clip disposed between the jaws.

2. In a device for applying wire clips, a longitudinal body member of trough-like construction formed of sheet metal, a rack arranged for reciprocal movement longitudinally of the body and within the trough portion thereof, a movable jaw member formed on one end of said rack, a fixed jaw member formed near one end of the body, said rack being of laminated sheet metal construction, a pair of upstanding bearing portions on the body, a pivot between said bearing portions, a sector carried by said pivot and disposed in geared engagement with said rack, and a handle operatively associated with said sector portion, the said jaw members forming opposed arcuate clip seats extending transversely of the body portion, one of said seats being provided with a notch at its lower portion adapted initially to engage a free end of a clip disposed between the jaws.

IVALTER A. HEINRICH. 

